The Debate Society, the Brooklyn troupe that creates new plays through collaboration, resurfaced in the East Village May 24 with their new piece, The Eaten Heart, part of a trilogy of new plays based on stories originating from The Black Plague.

The company's works are created by actors Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen (who write/adapt) and Oliver Butler (who directs them in an experiment-rich rehearsal process).

The Eaten Heart is drawn from Giovanni Boccaccio's 14th century masterwork "The Decameron." According to the company, "The essence of Boccaccio's characters and stories flavor The Eaten Heart — a modern lucid dream that matches 'The Decameron''s penchant for hilarious, erotic and occasionally gory twists. But while Boccaccio's travelers fled to the countryside to escape their morbid reality by telling stories of debauchery and murder, the characters of The Eaten Heart escape the monotony of their own lives to interact in the anonymous security of a remote roadside motel. Strangers check in and out, rendezvous, plot and then disappear again back onto the lonely highways."

Performances continue to June 9 at the Ontological-Hysteric Incubator at The Ontological Theater's home at St. Marks Church on Second Avenue in Manhattan. Show times are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 PM.

The Debate Society's trio of collaborators began their work together with A Thought About Raya, developed from the writings of Russian absurdist Daniil Kharms. The play ran to sold-out houses and critical acclaim in New York City in April 2004. They went on to create The Snow Hen, which premiered at The Charlie Pineapple Theater in Brooklyn in February 2006. Later that year, The Debate Society made its West-Coast debut with A Thought About Raya at Insight Out Theatre in Portland, OR, and subsequently performed the show at The Fusebox Performance Festival in Austin, TX.